Willie Nelson’s 1975 album Red Headed Stranger was a watermark moment for country music in that it moved the genre beyond a collection of singles pressed onto a 12-inch circular piece of polyvinyl chloride (i.e. a vinyl record) and into a singular world that had a common thematic structure. Put another way, the art of storytelling (which is something the genre has always excelled at) was taken to the next level. And Willie was the guy to do it.
Feauturing sparse arrangements that almost exclusively features Nelson’s legendary guitar Trigger, piano (which is played by Nelson’s sister Bobbie), and some drums, Red Headed Stranger takes you through the story of a fugitive on the run after killing his wife and lover. It’s a sordid and lonely tale, but one that eventually finds redemption when the narrator describes his new life years later as an old man with a new wife and a grandson in the car with them during “Hands on the Wheel”.
Along with an incredible premise, the story behind the making of the album is equally compelling. Due to the sparse arrangements the executives at Nelson’s record label Columbia Records absolutely hated the final product. Like, loathed it. Reportedly one of the executives at the time remarked, “”This record should sound like anything but this. The songs feel disconnected. The mood is too down. And the sound is far too flat. You need to go back in and polish it.” This led to Nelson’s firebrand friend (and fellow country outlaw) Waylon Jennings to tell the executive that he was a “tone-deaf, tin-eared sonofabitch”, which is just one of the greatest insults in music history for my money.
Standout Songs: “Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain”, “Red Headed Stranger”, “Hands on the Wheel”
